Victims of sexual harassment want more stringent laws to ensure culprits are punished.

Many forms of sexual harassment not recognised by court

PETALING JAYA: Diana (not her real name) was resting with two other female colleagues, all housemen, in the on-call room at the hospital when she felt a pair of eyes watching them.

“This medical officer had entered the room where we were taking a nap, and sat down staring at us.

“When we switched on the light, he said he wanted to hang out there and asked us if we wanted to order some food,” said Diana.

This was just one of her experiences with the guy, who was known to have been behaving inappropriately towards housemen.

“He had been inappropriately close when he stood next to some of us.

“He would pull our ears jokingly and pinch us ,” she explained.

Diana did not lodge a report with the management, as she felt the hospital would not think the medical officer’s behaviour had “crossed the line”.

“He did things that were weird but never to a point where I felt confident enough to report him.”

Diana was not the only person who has had brushes with sexual harassment, be it at the workplace or in everyday life.

Emma (not her real name) found herself with no one to report to when she was harassed by her supervisor.

“It was the Malaysian branch of a foreign company. They had just started here so there was only my supervisor, a man in his late 40s, and me at that time.

“My supervisor would ask me intrusive questions, such as whether I had a boyfriend, or whether I go out a lot.

“I felt it was inappropriate given the fact that he was my supervisor, and we weren’t friends.

“He would also pester me every day to have lunch and tea with him,” said Emma.

She said she felt helpless as there was no Human Resources Department nor a code against sexual harassment in the office.

“I wanted to report to his boss (who was overseas) but they were friends, so I didn’t think he would believe me.

“I quit after two weeks,” she said. Many victims face great barriers in reporting such cases.

Asmah Mohd Nor was one victim who had endured sexually-charged remarks and messages by a superior in her company.

Her case introduced the tort (civil wrong) of sexual harassment into the Malaysian legal system.

One of her lawyers, Datuk David Morais, recalled the challenges she had to overcome to have her case heard in court.

“It was a hugely expensive, wasteful, long-winded process to get her a solution,” he said.

He said Asmah had to pay high legal fees for her case to be heard in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, though her fees were waived when her case was escalated to the Federal Court.

“She ended up spending close to RM100,000 before her case was heard in the Federal Court,” he said.

He said it took her five years before there was a final judgment.

One huge challenge Asmah had to face, was how sexual harassment was seen as the norm.

“The argument that was raised by the perpetrator in court was simply that ‘this is a small matter, boy talk, this is how people behave, what’s the big deal?’” he said.

This case, he said, was a step forward in bringing the discussion to light.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) advocacy manager Yu Ren Chung said a lack of laws against sexual harassment in the country had made it difficult to seek justice.

“One reason is that many forms of harassment, including stalking, are not recognised as offences in the law,” said Yu.

“(A) sexual harassment legal framework also must ensure companies, universities, association, and any other organisation incorporate appropriate measures into their internal sexual harassment policies,” he said.

He said victims might also find it difficult to report due to fear.

“Survivors fear retaliation, further harm and harassment.

“This fear can be lessened should there be more protection for victims in the legal framework.

Our legal framework must also be improved to enable survivors of harassment to access interim restraining orders while investigations take place.

“This is a common legal tool in many other countries. It would just take a simple amendment to the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to put in place,” he said.

Victims of domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, or other forms of gender-based violence, can access free and confidential services from WAO via its hotline (03-7956 3488) and WhatsApp (018-988 8058).

> Inform the harasser his actions amount to sexual harassment, send (email) letter/notice to inform him to stop his behaviour. (See harasser with a friend if need support).

> Do not keep to yourself –

Tell trusted friends, colleagues, family.

> Get emotional support, discuss with a counsellor from HR department or NGOs with counselling services.

> Be aware of how sexual harassment affects you – e.g. changing your work habits to

avoid the harasser. > Document all cases of sexual

harassment.

> Report it – to supervisor, manager, human resources manager

(internal mechanism) or/and > Report to Ministry of Women or Human Resources after exhausting internal mechanism. If you have sufficient evidence or if the sexual harassment is criminal in nature, report to the police. > Be aware of your

surroundings.

> Know your rights – you have the right to work in a safe environment.

> Do not blame yourself, it is

not your fault.